Joel Cohen

Joel began his professional career as an Economist for Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in the World Financial Center in downtown Manhattan (He is currently working for Citi). After he witnessed the tragedy of 9/11 first hand, Joel had a strong desire to connect more with others and impact those around him. He chose to return to the roots of his heritage and combine it with his love of education. This began on the Upper East Side with one student. The positive impact Joel had on this family led him to many other students and families. Word spread quickly and Door To Door Tutoring was born.

Joel has been involved with Jewish education in the tri-state area for the past sixteen years. Joel's fondness of Jewish education began when he was a student at the Solomon Schechter Academy. It continued with his participation in Kadima and USY. Joel studied Economics and Hebraic Studies at Rutgers College and earned a BA in 2001. Joel has a vast experience teaching at many organizations including The Long Beach Island JCC, Congregation B'nai Israel of Toms River, Congregation B'nai Tikvah of North Brunswick, and Congregation B'nai Israel of Rumson. Joel has also guest-lectured at various synagogues throughout New Jersey.

Additionally, He taught and administered the Talmud Torah program at Congregation Da'at Elohim on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Joel currently leads the Shacharit Service for the High Holy Days at his hometown shul of B'nai Israel in Toms River, New Jersey, and he is also often a Ba'al Kriyah (Torah/Haftarah Reader).

Joel has taught hundreds of students in the classroom setting and individually. He is now known in countless circles as the go-to source for Jewish Education, B'nai Mitzvah preparation and Jewish Resources. He prides himself on creating an environment that fosters the well-rounded development of an enjoyable and meaningful connection to Jewish religious studies and Jewish cultural tradition. Joel is an extremely enthusiastic instructor, and his passion genuinely shows with every student he encounters and every teacher he mentors and coaches. Joel currently works at a boutique consulting firm in New York City doing corporate recovery, insolvency, forensic accounting and economic investigations.

Alyssa

An English major at Tulane University, from which she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, Alyssa Kaplan works as an English tutor for Door to Door Tutoring. She believes in teaching her students strategies that meet their individualized needs, a value she exercised as an English Language Arts teacher in the South Bronx. A participant in the University of Iowa writing program, Alyssa is also committed to reinforcing students’ writing skills. Alyssa currently works as a freelance writer and editor, providing support for a range of educational companies. In August, she will begin her graduate studies at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, to which she has been accepted as a Public Service Scholar.

Meryl

Meryl began teaching Bnai Mitzvah when she was in eighth grade, only months after her own Bat Mitzvah. She continued teaching dozens of students at her synagogue in Cleveland, Ohio throughout her high school years. While pursuing Art History at Barnard College and Bible Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary as an undergraduate, she also taught four high school classes at Machon Beth Shalom in Roslyn Heights, NY. Meryl was also a staff member at Camp Ramah in Canada for three summers.

Sarah

Sarah is in her third year of rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary. She received a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, where she also minored in Hebrew Language and Literature. Passionate about Judaism and education, Sarah has ten years of experience in Jewish education. She has taught Sunday school for two years, tutored in Jewish studies and for B'nai Mitzvot for three years, and served as an informal educator for several years at a Jewish camp in her hometown of Minneapolis. Sarah loves teaching and sharing her joy in Jewish life, customs, traditions, and prayer.

David

David has nine years of experience in Jewish Education. He started by teaching B¹nai Mitzvot for three years at his hometown synagogue. While pursuing Jewish Studies and Biology at Wake Forest University, he taught two sixth-grade classes and B'nai Mitzvot at the local Jewish Community Center. Currently, he teaches at a synagogue on Manhattan's Upper East Side and guest-lectures at a congregation in Long Island. David is knowledgeable in the customs and practices of Jewish festivals, and he is also familiar with traditional Jewish folk melodies. Additionally, he is particularly well-versed in Jewish Shabbat and Torah.

Noam

Noam has grown up in an environment that necessitated his command of the Hebrew language and Jewish traditions. From birth, his father spoke to him exclusively in Hebrew and he attended an Orthodox Jewish day school from K-12th grade. At every opportunity Noam has continued the Jewish tradition of "*v'shinantam l'vanecha*", educating our youth. He has worked in group settings as a camp director and head coach, and as a teacher. He has experience in one on one settings as a tutor in secular, Judaic, Hebrew and Bar Mitzvah subjects. He has also served as a basketball, volleyball, and baseball coach developing players' skills, self-confidence and focus. Noam graduated from the University of Maryland in 2006 with a B.A. in Economics, earning Cum Laude honors and being named to the Phi Beta Kappa honors society. Noam spent the last 18 months living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He served as a Program Director for PeacePlayers International where he specialized in delivering a cross-community basketball curriculum to the historically divided people in that region. Currently Noam serves as the Institutional Giving Manager at a nonprofit called the Jericho Project based in Manhattan. He looks forward to challenging your children to reach their potential in all of their academic endeavors.

Bari

Bari has vast experience in formal and informal Jewish education. A native of Pittsburgh, Bari has worked for three summers at Camp Ramah in Canada, where she has served as a counselor, caretaker, and Jewish educator for young adults with special needs. In New York, she has taught kindergarten at B'nai Jeshurun Hebrew School. Currently, she has found her home with Door To Door Tutoring, specializing in Hebrew, Jewish History, and Bar/Bat Mitzvah Skills. A senior at Columbia University majoring in history, Bari is also the editor-in-chief of The Current, a journal of contemporary politics, culture, and Jewish affairs. Read her work at: www.columbiacurrent.com.

Benjamin

A Door to Door tutor since 2006, Ben Rosner is currently pursuing a Masters of Sacred Music and his Cantorial Certificate at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He earned a Bachelors degree in Classical Guitar with a minor in Jewish Studies at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida.

Ben has a range of singing experience, from performing with the Great Synagogue Choir of Jerusalem to starring in the Hebrew University production of Les Miserables.

Ben serves as the cantorial intern at Temple Beth Rishon in Wyckoff, NJ. Recordings of Ben can be found at www.cantorben.com

Adam

Adam has several years of experience in Jewish education. He tutored Bar and Bat Mitzvah students at his home synagogue for five years, specializing in prayers, Torah, and Haftarah reading. In addition, he has two years of experience tutoring in Hebrew and Judaic Studies. Adam is currently in his final year as an undergraduate at the Jewish Theological Seminary (Ancient Jewish History) and Columbia (Classics). Prior to college, he spent two years studying at Yeshivat Ma'aleh Gilboa in Israel, focusing on the Bible, Talmud and Jewish Law.

Zach

Zach grew up in a traditional conservative family where Judaism always played a central role. He attended Jewish day school through 8th grade, and Hebrew High School thereafter. Zach always excelled in his Hebrew, Bible, and Judaica classes.

Zach has over twelve years of tutoring experience. After reading the entire Torah and Haftorah portion and leading the full Shabbat morning service on his Bar Mitzvah, he started one-on-one and group tutoring at his synagogue in Cherry Hill, NJ, in 9th Grade. He continued preparing youth for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs on a weekly basis throughout high school. Zach spent eight summers at Camp Ramah in the Poconos, reading Torah and Haftorah, leading services, and helping fellow campers to do the same. His leadership at Ramah continued for two more summers as a bunk counselor.

While serving as the Religion Education Vice President for HaGesher Region USY, Zach was responsible for assigning all parts of the service for several weekends throughout the year. He ensured that the entire operation ran smoothly, taking care to see that each participant and leader fulfilled their roles and obligations properly, and he filled in himself when necessary. During this period, Zach traveled to Israel with USY on two peer-based trips. In his junior year of high school, Zach spent two months studying Jewish history with the beautiful country of Israel as his classroom. He returned the following summer on an Israel pilgrimage which started with a nine-day tour of Poland. Both of these experiences left a lasting impression on Zach, and he cherishes them to this day.

While in college at Indiana University, Zach taught two 5th-grade Hebrew classes and also tutored Bar Mitzvah students. He has been tutoring in the New York area for the past year. Recently, he has also been teaching 4th and 7th-graders part-time at Central Synagogue in Manhattan. Zach is proficient in all aspects of Judaism including Shabbat, Holidays, customs, and traditions.

Zev

Zev has been teaching and bar mitzvah tutoring since he had his bar mitzvah. Beginning as an aid in a Hebrew school classroom when he entered high school he became a bar mitzvah tutor and began teaching Hebrew school class on trope (cantelation) for Torah and Haftorah to pre-Bnai mitzvah age kids at Beth Shalom in Seattle, WA.

Zev remained committed to Jewish education while studying to earn his Bachelors at McGill University, where he also obtained a minor in Jewish Studies. During this time, he was a youth advisor for Young Judea. He also volunteered at a student-run synagogue in order to keep his own skills up to speed.

Upon completion of his undergraduate work, Zev continued teaching classes on topics in Judaism while living in Los Angeles at Valley Beth Shalom to Seventh graders. He also resumed tutoring and teaching at another conservative synagogue in the San Fernando Valley, Adat Ari-El. Since moving to New York to start law school at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Zev has kept up with his passion for tutoring by working part-time as a tutor at a synagogue in the New York area as well as for Door To Door Tutoring.

Zev is a graduate of Jewish day school and High School and spent a year studying in Israel on Young Judea's Year Course. He is fluent in Hebrew, and well versed in Jewish biblical studies as well as Jewish history. Zev is also proficient in trope, and knows many tunes for all different denominations of Judaism services.

Ariel

Ariel grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where she attended Hebrew School at Temple Beth Shalom and Midrasha Hebrew College at the Jewish Community Center.  In her youth, Ariel was active in BBYO and USY. 

She was a camper at Camp Ramah in the Poconos for eight summers, before she worked as a counselor for the following four. Ariel discovered her passion for teaching at camp, where she led informal education sessions for campers. In high school, she completed her teacher's certificate, enabling her to help students prepare for their B'nei Mitzvot and lead High Holiday services for youth. While in college, Ariel spent a semester simultaneously studying at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and The Conservative Yeshiva. She holds a bachelor's degree in Talmud from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and will soon complete her degree in Psychology from Barnard College.

Ariel is currently working as the recruitment coordinator for the AVODAH: Jewish Service Corps program, and teaching Hebrew School at the Temple Israel Center in White Plains, NY.  In addition, she is assisting a JTS professor with a project investigating the lasting effect of Shabbatonim on Jewish identity.  Ariel enjoys reading Torah and Haftorah and is excited to share her passion for Judaism with her students.

Jeremy

Jeremy Baruch is originally from West Bloomfield, MI and graduated from the University of Michigan Honors College in 2007 with a degree in Judaic Studies.  He received a Wexner Fellowship for Jewish Education and is currently studying at YCT rabbinical school.  Jeremy has spent large sections of his life in Israel and has tutored and taught in Reform and Conservative synagogues in New York, Detroit, and Ann Arbor. 

Melissa

Hailing from Long Island, Melissa graduated cum laude From Duke University in 2005 with a B.A. in Music, specializing in classical voice. With a deep-seated love of Judaism and music, Ms. Berman decided to continue her studies at the H.L Miller Cantorial School at the Jewish Theological Seminary where she is currently a third year student. This past summer, Melissa did a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education where she served as a full time Chaplain at a hospital in Brooklyn. In the summer of 2006, Melissa staffed USY on Wheels, and had the opportunity to teach and refresh her kids in Torah, haftarah and Aicha tropes, as well as standard tefillah. Currently, Melissa serves as the Hazzan for Temple Beth Ahm in Aberdeen, New Jersey. Along with music and teaching, Melissa enjoys photography, yoga, travel, historical fiction novels, and the company of friends and family.

Ilana

Ilana began her Jewish Education with nine years of Jewish Day School and four years of Hebrew High School. She then continued her studies through various coursework in the Middle East and Jewish Literature at the University of Michigan. More recently, Ilana spent a semester studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, taking intensive Hebrew language courses and learning Zionist history. Currently, she is a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at Yeshiva University. In addition, Ilana spent many years at Camp Ramah, including three years on staff, planning creative and educational programming for middle and high-school-aged children in a fun setting. Topics covered included prayer, rituals, Jewish life, and the relevance and connection of Judaism to the lives of Jewish American children. Ilana began tutoring Hebrew language and Bar Mitzvah preparation seven years ago. She has a proficient knowledge of the Hebrew language, the melodies for Torah and Haftorah reading, and the customs of Shabbat and Jewish Holidays.

Craig

Craig has been working with middle school and high school students in both the Academic and Sporting realm for many years. He grew up hearing his father chant the Torah and Haftorah portions at his Synagogue in Baltimore, Maryland and admired his ability to effectively train young men and women to become All-Stars on their Bar or Bat Mitzvah day. Soon after his own Bar Mitzvah, Craig began assisting his father with some of his students and eventually became the Bnei Mitzvah Coach he is today. Craig has also been tutoring Math and Science for some time now. He served as a Teaching Assistant in College for a couple of semesters, helping fellow students achieve their Academic goals. Craig's passion for sport empowered him to create the Fighting Davids Institute in 2004 which provides Sports Clinics and Motivational Seminars to maximize one's inner and outer potential. The Institute strives to develop and refine the individual skill-sets of athletes in a manner that also develops life skills to be utilized off the playing field as well as on. In 2006, Craig spent the majority of the year working in Northern Ireland Managing and Coordinating Basketball and Life-Skills Workshops to bring together the Youth of the Divided Society. Currently, Craig works for the National Football Foundation's Play It Smart Program in New York City. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 2006 with a B.S in Psychology/Pre-Health studies and plans on attending Dental School in the Fall of 2008.

Noam

Growing up in a Modern Orthodox home in Baltimore, Maryland, Noam began tutoring Hebrew when he was in the 7th grade, even before his own Bar Mitzvah. Later in high school, he mentored and tutored 5th grade students as well as tutored Jewish studies to other high school students. For the summers he went to camp Moshava in Pennsylvania. After high school, he went to Israel to study in Yeshiva for 18 months before returning to the US. While pursuing Middle Eastern History at Yeshiva University as an undergraduate, he began tutoring for Door to Door Tutoring, in September of 2006.

Rebecca

Rebecca Keren Eisenstadt is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, having completed her BFA in Drama and minor in Business at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business with honors. Rebecca is also a graduate of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD, and served as a B'nai Mitzvah tutor for 5 years with Congregation Beth El of Bethesda MD. As an artist, Rebecca has acted in several off-Broadway plays and films; most notably, Rebecca co-created, produced and performed in five-time Tony Award nominated Elizabeth Swados' ATONEMENT, an ecumenical oratorio about Yom Kippur which was performed at St. Marks Church, The JCC in Manhattan, The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine and The Actors' Temple.

Rebecca enjoys combining her loves of Judaism, Music, and performance as a Bnai Mitzvah Tutor. She has been working as a Bnai mitzvah tutor with Central Synagogue and as a Hebrew/Bnai Mitzvah, Math tutor and Academic Coach with Door To Door Tutoring since the summer of 2008. For more information about Rebecca as an artist, visit her website at www.rebeccakeren.com.

Danny

Danny believes that writing should be a pleasure, not a burden. He's been working with students of all ages for several years. As a college student, he worked for two years in the campus Writing Center where he helped his clients hone their writing skills. To pursue his own writing interests, Danny was an English major, worked as an editor of the student newspaper, and landed a job as an editor for a community newspaper in Maryland. In his spare time, he continues to tutor middle school and high school students to help them become better writers. Danny has tutored in a variety of academic subjects, as well.

Ari

Ari Fridman grew up in a Modern Orthodox home in Teaneck, NJ. Ari is currently a second-year law student at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. This past summer he interned for a federal judge, the Honorable Frederic R. Block of the Eastern District of New York. Prior to law school, Ari was a Legacy Heritage Fellow at the American Jewish Committee in the Office of the Executive Director. A magna cum laude graduate of Yeshiva University, Ari majored in Jewish Studies, minored in English Literature, and served as editor-in-chief of The Commentator, the school's undergraduate newspaper. During college, Ari interned on Capitol Hill and at a Middle East think tank in Washington, D.C. After attending Jewish day schools for twelve years, as well as spending summers at Camp Moshava, Ari continued his Jewish education in Israel, studying in Yeshivat Har Etzion.

Ari is an experienced reader of the Torah, having read the Torah at synagogues around the Metropolitan area, including the Jewish Center of Manhattan. Ari is proficient in teaching children of all levels and backgrounds how to read from the Torah. In addition, Ari has multiple years of experience teaching all facets of Jewish Studies and Israeli history to children, including at Camp Moshava. Ari also speaks conversational Hebrew, and is proficient at teaching children of all levels and backgrounds how to read, write, and speak Hebrew. A resident of the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Ari's interests include current affairs, biking, reading history and tennis.

Melissa

Hailing from Long Island, Melissa graduated cum laude From Duke University in 2005 with a B.A. in Music, specializing in classical voice. With a deep-seated love of Judaism and music, Melissa decided to continue her studies at the H.L Miller Cantorial School at the Jewish Theological Seminary where she is currently a fourth year Cantorial student and a first year student at the Davidson School of Education. This past summer, Melissa worked as Cantorial Intern at Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia. In 2007, Melissa did a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education where she served as a full time Chaplain at a hospital in Brooklyn. In the summer of 2006, Melissa staffed USY on Wheels, and had the opportunity to teach and refresh her kids in Torah, Haphtarah and Aicha tropes, as well as standard tefillah (prayers). Currently, Melissa serves as the Hazzan for Temple Beth Ahm in Aberdeen, New Jersey. Along with music and teaching, Melissa enjoys photography, yoga, travel, historical fiction novels, and the company of friends and family.

Meryl

Meryl attended Detroit's Solomon Schector Day School before graduating with honors from the University of Michigan with a degree in English Literature. Throughout high school and college she pursued various teaching opportunities, including tutoring students in preparation for their B'nai Mitzvot, leading creative and persuasive writing workshops for various University of Michigan organizations, and facilitating life-skills classes for troubled teens. She was also a camp counselor at Camp Maas for 4 years, at which time she facilitated Jewish programming. Meryl currently works as a museum educator the Museum of Modern Art and is free lance editor.